🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1hsfvsINN115@nuala.hal.COM> juan@nuala.hal.COM (John Thompson Reynolds) writes:
>
>In article <C01vE9.HsF.1@cs.cmu.edu>, 0004244402@mcimail.com (Karl Dishaw) writes:

>My thoughts were along the line of constructing a hollow cylinder of
>powdered aluminum, into which you would pump LOX at a controlled rate.

>I seem to remember a somewhat similar design which pumps LOX into a tube of 
>rubber?  To stop the "engine", stop the flow of LOX.

>Obviously such a design would only be useful in a vacuum, and is probably
>no more reusable than an SRB.

Well, existing AP/rubber motors (like the SRBs) have the oxidizer embedded in
the rubber (the AP) - they also tend to include some aluminium because it
gives better thrust (the mix is critical because you want to control burn time,
keep chamber temps and pressures in a safe range etc etc - having seen the
results of NOT keeping the chamber pressure in safe range ....BANG).

A LOX/Rubber system would probably have Al embedded in the rubber anyway for
the same reasons. I'm a bit leary about it being restartable, certainly you
can shut it off, but after burning for a while the mechanical stabiliy of
the rubber is going to be a bit off - garbage may have blocked the nozzle
etc etc.

I doubt an Al engine will be reusable without lots of cleaning --- alumina's
going to be real hard to get off!! (Probably harder to clean than an SRB)
Why wouldn't it work in an atmosphere?

	Paul



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